Return to Crocodile Isle
by Vianerd
Summary: Just when they thought their troubles were over, Crocodile Isle raises from the ashes... er, sea. To make matters worse, DK gets ape-napped, so Diddy and Dixie go out to rescue him. On the way they meet strange creatures, and make unusual allies... (OLD STORY!)
1. Chapter 1

_What's this? A story? Well, here's an introduction. Contains mild swearing, romantic situations, and violence. Also two fan characters... but they don't take up the story. It's still about Diddy and Dixie. So yeah. Enjoy!_

_I claim nothing, except for the few fan characters that may appear. All other names, characters, and locations are copyrighted to Nintendo and/or Rare._

* * *

**Prologue**

Sure, he had been through many things. Knocked in his own filthy swamp and chewed out by sharks, chased out of his own castle, even blown away into the ocean multiple times. He knew it were those apes – those pesky, no-good apes – who brought him such misery. On a fine summer's day, he was launched into the ocean with great force as a punishment for who-knows-what.  
It took him a while to become aware of his surroundings – salt water all around him. If he was any other species it would have stung his eyes, but he wasn't any other animal, he was a Kremling, and a king, no less. Floating around for a while, not quite knowing what to do, he began to swim around aimlessly. (of course, he could also hold his breath for a very long time)  
It was quite a sorry sight indeed. He had lost his crown, and his royal cape had seen better days as well. And now he was on a romp in the ocean. Quite pitiful, he thought, as he mowed forth, deeper and deeper, all while paddling furiously with his strong arms, searching for something to help him back to his mechanical island, which was in an incredibly state of disrepair.  
Eventually he came across something what appeared to look like a volcano of some sorts. He recognized it immediately as it was no volcano, but the famed, now-defunct Crocodile Isle.  
If he wouldn't have been underwater he would've cheered, but he just swam to it quickly instead, and entered the crater that would take him deeper, and deeper, until he reached what he wanted to reach; the Kremling Source.

Surprisingly, an air pocket was trapped in the island, and once he finally reached dry ground again, he could breathe freely once again. He sank to his knees and gasped heavily, still soaked from head to toe. His old eyes spotted the altar from which the Source came, at least, it would have, until he got knocked in the Source itself, which caused it to malfunction and Crocodile Isle to sink. Everything was gone. Kremland, Gloomy Gulch, Crocodile Cauldron – they were all but a memory to the natives of the Island, the Kremlings, from whom a few just managed to escape after the tragic accident in a couple of old boats. After that, their numbers began to slink down faster than ever. Their king could only watch it happen without being able to do anything. He didn't want to mate with female Kremlings, and without the Source, they couldn't survive, so the race was doomed to go extinct.  
Until now.  
For the king had found the fabled Source, that many Kremling kids just knew of stories, because they were so little when the isle sank. He found the Source of the Kremlings.  
He greedily approached the altar with outstretched arms and an evil glimmer in his eyes. As soon as he planted his claws on them, however, everything started to rumble and shake, he hit his head on something heavy, and from then, he forgot everything what had happened. He could feel one last memory, one last feeling of pain – but after that, everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1: Kidnapped again? You gotta be kiddin'!**

_One year later_

'C'mon, gimme back my hat!'  
'Only if you ask nicely, then maybe, just maybe, I'll give it back.'  
'Stop it!'  
What seemed like a heated argument – I mean, a squabble for a hat – was actually not as bad as it appeared to be, like always - through the misty, early-morning treetops in the Kongo Jungle, Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong were chasing each other through the trees playfully, laughing and jumpy like always. Cranky Kong, AKA Donkey Kong Senior, was trying to take a nap in his old chair, so the chipper behaviour of those two didn't please him at all. Why'd they decide to quarrel around his house, of all things?  
'Hey! Keep it down in those trees! I'm tryin' to sleep over here!' He waved his cane threateningly. 'Pesky kids...'  
'I liked you much better when you were asleep,'  
Diddy suddenly popped up before him, hanging upside-down with his tail on a branch. He made faces in an attempt to annoy the old ape.  
'Why, you -' the annoyed Cranky called and swung his cane that just missed Diddy, albeit no more than a few mere inches, to which the monkey climbed back to the treetops in a hurry, where both he and his girlfriend laughed at the old ape. 'I _was_ sleeping, until you kids came along with yer chattering and yelling! Psh! Did DK raise you in a _barn_?'  
'Yeah, I suppose he did.' Dixie said, and started giggling.  
'What do you mean with that?' Diddy said angrily, but laughter is highly contagious so he promptly started laughing as well, just barely managing to not fall off his branch.  
'Hey! I was talking to you! Oh well...' Cranky said. 'Anyway, I think you should check what my lazy, good-for-nothing son's up to. He's been quite nervous since the earthquakes...'  
But of course, the earthquakes were plaguing the isle for about a year now. Large chunks of the Island's Kong-shaped face had began to crumble down, to something that bore little resemblance to any of them. On top of that, fossils had shown up and Gorilla Glacier was slowly melting.  
Dixie and Diddy weren't listening and instead were busy trying to push each other off the branch jokingly.  
'Hey! You listenin'?'  
They almost fell off, but Diddy nodded and they darted away, bounding over the branches quickly, almost gracefully. It had been quite a while since they visited him, because they had been adventuring together a lot for the last few days.  
'Pesky kids...' Cranky muttered before drifting off to sleep again.

Soon enough the two reached the house. It had many renovations as of late, because the quakes got rid of the hill the house was standing on, resulting to it being build on poles now. The banana hoard was still intact, though.  
'Woo-oo, DK! You in there!' Diddy called. No answer. 'Hey! Did you fall through th' floor?'  
Dixie started laughing at that comment. 'Poor DK. It was bound to happen anyway, what with those twigs the house's built on...'  
'Yeah, I know, right?' Diddy started laughing, too. They were feeling exceedingly cheerful today, resulting in those rather random outbursts of laughter. But suddenly, his laugh died down abruptly.  
'What's wrong?' his girlfriend asked, concerned.  
'Something's not right here... he would've come out to look by now. I don't think he's there, Dixie.'  
It hit her like a rock. 'Oh my. Do you think he's -'  
'Kidnapped? By who? K. Rool? C'mon, that guy hadn't been seen for over a year! Two years, even!' He climbed up the flimsy pole construction and looked inside the house. Oh, what a sight that was. Stuff had been knocked over, broken, and stolen. Tiny dust particles were able to be seen through the dim rays of light that filtered through the openings in the roof. But his buddy was nowhere to be seen. On the floor laid a note.  
'Come over here, will you,' he called over to Dixie who climbed up promptly. 'What's this? Where were we when this happened?'  
'Oh, over at th' tree tops near Cranky. You were attempting to woo me with one of your special red bananas.'  
Red banana. Even though it was an _actual_ red banana she was talking about, it still sounded so hilariously wrong. Thus, she started giggling again.  
'Yeah, ha-ha-ha, Dixie. This is serious!' Diddy yelled, almost frightening her. 'Where's DK? What happened here? Looks like he's been in quite a fight...'  
'Doesn't it always look that way, though? Why, read that note already, it's there for a reason!'  
She picked up the note and handed it to her friend. He started reading.

"_Awha, ha, ha to you, you mangy monkeys!_

_We've kidnapped that lumbering fool Donkey Kong, you'll never see him again! Either give us the bananas, or you can wave your little hands goodbye to him! Bwa-hah-hah-hah! Whose idea was it anyway to write down my evil laughs? Oh well. Bwa-hah-hah!_

_Signed , -_"

What followed after "signed" was written rather shoddily, yet they had a feeling that they knew this guy already.  
'Oh my gosh, do you think they -'  
'No need to jump to conclusions, my dear,' Diddy began. 'We'll see Cranky about it.'  
'Alright then, but I'll go with you, whether you like it or not. And don't call me dear, you son of a-' 'Oh, alright, _sweetheart_,' he interrupted mockingly, and grinned.  
Needless to say, she chased him all the way through the jungle after that comment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2: The adventure begins, and this title is clichéd and boring**

Cranky was just about to doze off in the sunlight, rocking comfortably in his chair – until a sound woke him. Mildly annoyed, he saw the two monkeys running towards him.  
Diddy ran past unusually fast.  
'Oi, Crankmeister! Help! I'm being chased! Waugh! Don't kill me, Dixie! I'm sorry!'  
Before the old ape could say anything, the young monkey was in the progress of being pinned down in a rather uncomfortable pose by his girlfriend.  
'Say _please_,' she said, glaring at him deviously. She smirked smugly, while Diddy just laughed nervously.  
'Puh-leeze!' he gasped. She let go, to which her prisoner collected himself quickly. 'Jeez, why do you always play so rough!'  
'I don't play rough, you're just a softy.'  
'Oh, a softy, huh? We'll see about that,'  
They began another play-fight, almost forgetting why they came to visit the elder in the first place. He, who was looking at the scene the whole time, didn't say anything. Instead, he just attempted to fall asleep again.  
While being in the progress of being flattened by her friend in the play-fight, Dixie shot a glance to the old ape, and suddenly remembered why they came here again.  
'Uh, Diddy? Weren't we supposed to ask Cranky about DK? He's falling asleep again.' She said.  
Diddy crept out from his rather uncomfortable pose and yelled; 'WAKE IT UP, NUTTY OLD FOP!'  
Cranky woke with a start. Dixie gasped.  
'Oh my, did you really say - ?' she managed to say. She just looked at her self-proclaimed boyfriend for a while, but then laughed. 'Oh, you son of a Klaptrap,'  
Cranky was justifiably angry now. 'Why, you little... Back in my day, we respected our elders! Why, such language, tsk! What's gonna happen to you two when you grow up?'  
They ignored his rambling altogether. 'Actually, we came to ask something.'  
'Heh, you said _came_.'  
'Shut up,'  
'About what? I can teach you all about real storytelling, if you're interested. I mean, first videogames, and now some sorry fan story? What is the world coming to. Back in my day...' Cranky started rambling with little interest. He didn't care.  
'About this,' Diddy said and handed over the note they found in DK's hut.  
'Why, that's not too good, is it? Well, I should've told you about this earlier...'  
He frowned, and tapped a nearby tree with his cane.  
'Climb up,' he commanded. The two youngsters did as they were told.  
'All the way to the top,'  
As soon as they reached the crown of the foliage, they saw what he meant. It stood there in plain sight in the sea, so of course they spotted it immediately – Crocodile Isle, home of the Kremlings. Enormous ships were stranded at the most awkward of places, some as high as the former Crazy Kremland now, and trees were undone of foliage and degraded to driftwood – needless to say, it looked like quite a pitiful place, much different from the scary, ominous isle it was before.  
'What the- didn't we make that place sink to the bottom of the sea, five years ago?' Diddy groaned. 'Great, and they were probably the ones who took DK too. Jeez!'  
'It was the cause of all the earthquakes, at least that's what I know,' Cranky began.  
'How did you know all this?' he got interrupted, by Dixie this time. 'After all, you aren't really known as one of the best climbers around here.'  
'I can climb well enough if I have to,' the elder mumbled, annoyed by that remark. 'But some animals had told me. A couple of parrots, even Squawks was among them I think, were the first ones to tell me about it. What's happened to DK?'  
The two climbed down. 'He's been kidnapped,' Dixie announced in a rather exaggerated manner.  
'Again?' Cranky frowned. 'Figure I'll go and rescue him then I guess,'  
He attempted to climb out of his chair, only to fall back as soon as he tried to stand up.  
'Ow! My back!' he cried.  
Diddy and Dixie looked at each other for a moment, then at Cranky, and back again. They knew what this meant.  
'Adventure?'  
'You bet it is!'  
They ran off towards their own house before the elder could say anything.

Diddy was busily collecting stuff for the journey.  
'Alright, have I got everything? Peanut popguns, backpack, jetpack... Say, where'd Dixie go?'  
He hadn't noticed her going away before him, but to his relief she entered the house just when he started to get worried. But he got quite a fright, for she held a large crossbow.  
'What th-' he uttered. 'Wasn't that thing your sister's weapon?'  
'Yeah, _was,_' Dixie began. 'She handed it over to me after she went through puberty, thanks to one of Cranky's potions gone wrong. She said it was childish to play with toys at her age.'  
'Childish!' cried Diddy. 'Look at the size of that monster!'  
'Yeah, I don't get it either.'  
'What will you shoot with?'  
'Oh, just feathers.'  
She popped in the makeshift ammunition in the weapon, and dangerously swung it around.  
'Careful with that!' Diddy yelped, jumping out of the way. 'But seriously, _feathers_?'  
'Golden Breegull feathers. Those things can cut through anything.'  
'Oh, I see. As long as you won't shoot me...'  
he looked around the house to see if he hadn't forgotten anything. After all, they were embarking on a journey that would probably be their hardest yet.  
'Got your backpack?'  
'Check.'  
'Then, let's go,'

They quickly ran to the shore, but Diddy stopped in his tracks.  
'How do we get there anyway?' he asked Dixie.  
'We can ask Squawks to take us there.'  
'Squawks? You gotta be kidding! That parrot is so old, he can barely lift a pebble at his age! I'll ask Cranky, you wait here,' and away he bounded. Once he arrived, he woke Cranky – who was dozing off again – to ask how in the world they were supposed to get to the island.  
The old ape just smiled mockingly. He wasn't about to act helpful to the Kong who woke him from his slumber.  
'Back in my day, we had to _swim_.'


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3: The fun house of fear itself, and I really don't like thinking up these titles**

After what seemed like an eternity, the two close friends finally reached the shore of Crocodile Isle, exhausted and soaked, because it was quite a swim from their island to this one.  
'Why, that filthy old...' Diddy gasped as he crawled on the beach. The sand felt unnatural and filthy – not soft and warm like on their own island. Crocodile Cauldron and Krem Quay had disappeared for some reason, too.  
'Couldn't he have asked Funky to fly us here? Or something?'  
Dixie didn't say anything. She was nearly as exhausted, and collapsed as soon as she felt dry ground again.  
'...Tired...' she managed to say. 'I'm... tired...'  
'Can you walk?' Diddy asked.  
No response.  
'Okay, this is gonna be awkward...'  
He picked her up in a rather weird fashion and hurried under a large ship, to escape from the view of any villainous entities that may have patrolled the beach. They were both too tired to say anything, so they just rested there for a while, huddled together.

Meanwhile, darkness reigned over the sacred hidey-hole of King K. Rool. He just sat there twiddling his thumbs, as if he was waiting for something. Suddenly, a large grey-and-white coloured bird with a sharp beak and strong talons, that was almost as large as the king himself, flew in through the crater of the volcano he was hiding in. It gracefully swooped down and perched down on a cage, in which nobody but Donkey Kong himself was locked up. The bird started preening its feathers, apparently unaware of the ape hidden away in the shadows.  
'Nothing unusual detected, my liege,' it said. 'I am honoured to serve you.'  
The Kremling king stood up and shot a single glare at his prisoner, who didn't say anything, ignoring the bird's remark altogether.  
'Oh, did you hear that, banana-brain?' he sneered towards the cage. 'Nobody seems to care enough to come and rescue you.'  
Diddy would, thought DK, as K. Rool started pacing about again laughing maniacally, but didn't say so. He swore himself to not say anything to the villain.  
'Well, they don't care about you, don't they? Ha! Don't care about you!' he repeated, apparently thinking that was a witty remark.  
The bird merged into the discussion. 'My lord, you already said that. And if you don't mind, my flock is just behind the volcano. We're hungry, and -'  
'What's that? Oh, do shut your mouth, you bothersome avian. Fly away, eat those pesky monkeys for all that I care,' the reptilian overlord spat, to which the bird flew away in a hurry, a bit hurt by that comment.  
The bird was a Harpy eagle, one of the many specimens K. Rool had bought when they were still chicks, and raised them to be efficient hunters, for Harpies could lift certain monkeys with ease. He was sure he could use them in the battle against those bothersome Kongs.  
She flew over to her mate, who greeted her, his brethren behind him.  
'Managed to get any food?' he asked. He was smaller than the female, and had a particularly threatening air among him, mostly due to the fact that he had a creepy long scar across his face.  
'Nothing,' she said. 'I still don't know why we actually bother working for him.'  
'Because we can't fly away here?' he answered with a glare. 'After all, it's quite a long flight to our birthplace. Shall we go hunting?'  
The female didn't say anything. She just gave a screech and the platoon left.

Meanwhile, Diddy and Dixie were still hiding under the old ship. They were both half asleep, until the latter noticed that they were lying just a little bit too close to each other.  
'So, did you decide to keep me warm? What for?' Dixie snapped, crawling out of her friend's reach.  
'Er... I thought that... y'know, you were cold... and stuff?' Diddy ventured. 'So I thought that I may as well... you know...'  
'Why?'  
'Because... I l-'  
'Keep down!'  
Before he could finish his sentence, he was pinned down against the floor.  
'What the-'  
He immediately saw why he got prompted to shut up. They could just see a couple of talons with incredibly sharp claws walking past. The talons belonged to a large, fearful-looking raptor-like bird that appeared to look rather hungry. Suddenly, it ran towards the Kongs' hiding place and peeked into the old boat, spotting them. Diddy fetched one of his peanut popguns as soon as he saw it and threateningly pointed it to the bird's face.  
'K-keep away!' he uttered. The bird looked confused. But strangely enough, it _did not attack_ – it just kept looking at them with that piercing glare. Finally, it said something.  
'Are you the only ones here?' it asked. From its soft and rather friendly sounding voice, they could make out that it was female. She didn't appear to be scared of Diddy's weapon, though.  
'Why, yes, but why do you ask?' Dixie ventured rudely, hiding behind Diddy. She believed that he was just the right one to protect her from this feathered fiend. Even though her own crossbow was much more powerful than his peanut popguns, she didn't feel the need to use it, what with him around.  
'Well, I work for K. Rool,' said the bird, looking about warily. 'But he doesn't treat me with respect. Us harpy eagles expect to be treated with respect, you know. Please, put away that bothersome weapon, I mean no harm.'  
The young Kong quickly put away his wooden weapon, but still remained alert. The bird continued.  
'He had initially raised us to get rid of you guys, but I don't want to. Why should I? You never did us any harm... even though my relatives probably ate one or two of yours... sorry about that.'  
Dixie wanted to say something, but because it was probably an insult, Diddy demanded her to keep her mouth shut.  
'What are you gonna do for us then?' he ventured.  
'I'm going to tell my flock that there is nobody here,' she said. 'Take care!'  
And as mysteriously as she came, she left, flapping away quickly. 'Watch out for zombies!' she called one more time, before disappearing from sight.  
'Zombies?' Diddy wondered. But without saying anything, he prompted his girlfriend to get out, and they both went on their way again, for their quest had only just started.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4: This isn't Thriller, Thriller night, but yer not gonna hold me tight, so get lost you perv**

It was a weird sight – a lot of old Kremling ships were stranded upon the island, some even close to the top. They probably sunk when some of the inhabitants tried to flee from the sinking isle, all those years ago. Some of them dangled pathetically on the cliffs, all while being covered with loads and loads of aquatic plants and sand. Small multicoloured crabs hid in the wrecks, scurrying away as soon as the two newcomers trod across the sloppy sands of the beach. The sun was beginning to set already, colouring the sea bright red.  
'Is this your idea of adventure?' Dixie asked.  
Diddy didn't say anything.  
'Hey!'  
'Yeah, what is it?' he finally answered, in a rather unexpected annoyed tone.  
'Isn't this, y'know, Kremling territory? Where the heck are they, anyway?'  
Good question. For they were on Crocodile Isle, yet the inhabitants, the Kremlings, were nowhere to be seen. All wildlife consisted of crustaceans and dead coral.  
But they would soon discover what the bird had told them. The two eventually reached a barren, isolated grove of driftwood. Since they were both tired, they decided to lay down for a while.  
But that was not a smart decision.  
'Er, Diddy? This place gives me the creeps,' said Dixie as she inched closer to her boyfriend (who didn't mind that at all).  
'Oh? Why's that?' he asked, and put his arm around his girlfriend comfortingly. 'It's just a couple of ships. Nothing to it,'  
'No, I mean... it's so cold, and what said that bird again? I forgot...'  
She was about to remember what it was. With a creepy, ominous sound, one of the ships creaked, and at the same time, something that looked like a _claw_ popped out of the ground. The claw quickly revealed itself to be part of some sort of horribly disfigured zombie-crocodile who hauled itself out of the mud. It began moaning and walked around for a bit on its half-skeletal legs, with no knowledge of why it was undead in the first place. At the same time, it produced a horrible stench, a stench that meant death. It did however not see the two Kongs hiding under a piece of driftwood, lucky for them.  
'Z_ombies_!' Diddy whispered. Said zombie heard him, unluckily enough, twisted around in a freakish manner and gave chase, albeit rather sluggishly, arms outstretched.  
'Get up! _Get up_!' he commanded Dixie, but before he knew it, she managed to climb upon his shoulders - already clutching her crossbow firmly - all while glaring fearfully at the undead Kremling.  
'Don't tell anyone, but I'm _scared_!' she yelped. 'Do something! You're supposed to be strong, as you're the _strong _male counterpart!' She looked around nervously, still holding tight onto her "Strong male counterpart". 'Save me!'  
'What ever happened to feminism?'  
'Don't say anything,'  
Diddy quickly fetched his peanut popguns and pointed them at the zombified Kremling.  
'I'm warning you, don't come any closer or I'll bust a peanut in yer-'  
But before he could finish his sentence, Dixie, who was still perched upon his shoulders, had already shot one of those painful gold feathers, which went right through the rotten being's flesh.  
Yet it didn't scream in agony, or bleed, or fall down in a puddle of blood. It just pulled out the feather, looked at it quizzically, and eventually, went pacing back. He dug himself in, and was gone.  
'Well, that was lame,' Diddy laughed, because of the sheer silliness of the situation. But his laugh faded away immediately, as from where the zombie came from, even more zombified claws rose from the surface, hauling their bodies from the mud, eventually revealing a platoon of zombie Kremlings, who were all slobbering and moaning. Every single individual smelt just as bad as the first one.  
'Is this where we run away in terror?' Dixie asked.  
And so they did – they quickly ran towards the remains of Kremland, the place that was once a renowned theme park.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5: Musings of a young couple, I can't write action scenes, and this title is yet another clichéd fail-fest**

Finally, it seemed like an eternity – they managed to reach the safe canopies of the old, washed-up trees. Thus, the zombies stopped the chase and went stumbling back, moaning and grumbling. The Kremland attractions had long be out of order, which was justified for a place that sank to the bottom of the sea. Small lights that didn't shine, defunct roller coasters, and washed-up, skeletal remains of hornet holes dotted the landscape. It sure was one sorry view.  
'I think we lost 'em,' Diddy gasped. He made an attempt to climb away over the branches, but Dixie didn't.  
'Er... are you coming?' he asked. No response. Instead, she was staring over the sea. The sky was coloured a bright red as the sun was setting.  
'Coming? What are you talking about? Tch! Look at this!'  
Diddy climbed back to where his girlfriend sat.  
'Oh, are we interested in sunsets now,' he huffed without interest. 'We should be hurrying along. Who knows what they're doing to DK...'  
Dixie shot him a glare. 'Oh, please... we'll never see something like this again. I'm sure he's fine,'  
Diddy noticed that he wasn't able to change her mind, so he just sat down, grumbling to himself.  
Silence fell. The only sounds that were able to be heard was the roaring sea below them. A lone seagull flapped over, gave a screech, and flew down to pick up something in the water. The air was thick with smells of sea foam and driftwood. They stared over the ocean towards the orange sky, sharing some bananas. It took a long time before any of them said a word.  
'You miss DK, don't you?' Dixie finally said, and rested her head on Diddy's lap.  
'Yes... yes I do,' he said, quite surprised. 'I mean... we've been through so much together. He's like a brother to me - and then those filthy Kremlings just... take him away. I can't believe it.'  
'I know I'm not the best role-model for girlfriends in general but... I'm so sorry. I miss him too,' His pink-clad girlfriend mumbled. 'It's really terrible what those Kremlings are up to. Remember when King K. _Fool_ built this ginormous laser in his mechanical island, and you, DK, my sis, and some others had to stop him?'  
Diddy smirked. 'Why, yes, I do remember that. You threw a fit because you couldn't come with me.'  
'Yeah, but really, can you blame me?' Dixie said, looking up into Diddy's eyes for a while. 'Goody-two-shoes Tiny went with you guys while I was left behind...'  
'You had to stay at home, because Kiddy fell sick.' Diddy stated bluntly.  
'...yeah, I know, I know... but it's still unfair.'  
They both didn't know what to say after that. After a couple of minutes, Diddy broke the silence.  
'I want you to be honest now – why did you want to go with me, anyway?'  
No response. She had peacefully fallen asleep on his lap. Diddy just smiled.  
'...love ya too, Dixie.'

They sat there until the sun was gone. Diddy was about to wake up his girlfriend so that they could hide someplace else when he heard a dark, ominous croak. In an instant he fetched one of his popguns and waved it about warily. To make matters worse, Dixie woke up.  
'What's wrong?' she murmured. 'I hope that wasn't you...'  
'Nope. Er, I heard something, but it's nothing. Get back to sleep,' he responded calmly.  
'No, not until you tell me.' She stretched out her body in a rather exaggerated manner. 'Whatever it is, you'll protect me, right?'  
Diddy just nodded. 'Haven't I always?' he said smugly.  
They heard another sound, so they shot a single glance towards some brambles, only to notice a large eagle sitting there, hunched over menacingly.  
'Well, well, well. What do we have here?' croaked the bird. This wasn't the same one they met before. They noticed at once – even though the sun was almost gone, they could see its defining trait – a long, red scar that made up half its face. It flapped its wings and landed near the two Kongs.  
'Say, it's been quite a while since I ate my fill, you know?' he guffawed, folding his wings, completely oblivious to Diddy's peanut popgun. He began pacing around the two young monkeys threateningly, who kept following his every move warily. 'You know, should I take you to K. Rool... or keep some of your succulent meat for my mate? She's rather -'  
'Shut it, you overgrown seagull!' Dixie snapped. She didn't like being bossed around at all. Let alone by creatures who wanted to eat her. 'Keep yer filthy beak off me!'  
Diddy gasped. 'Dixie! Don't say-'  
In a flash, blood splattered about, talons glimmered in the moonlight. But the one that was under attack was _the bird itself _– it was in the progress of being plucked by another Harpy eagle – his own mate, no less – the bird with the friendly voice that the Kongs had encountered before.  
'Run, you two! _RUN_!' she screeched hoarsely while slashing in on the other raptor. The attacked bird spat the most dirty insults it could think of. Diddy and Dixie quickly ran for their lives.  
'You... filthy cheating son of a-' the old male bird gasped, pricked on a branch of brambles, being pinned down by his own mate. '_Reaver_! You're not my mate anymore! You never should have _been_! I hope our lord plucks all your feathers and makes a rug out of it!'  
Hearing that stabbed through her heart like a knife, and she let go, to which the old scarred bird flapped up, losing a few feathers.  
'Mark my words, you WILL pay for this, even if it kills me!'  
With those words, he flew away more dead than alive, into the darkness. Reaver, the female Harpy eagle, stared in the distance for a while before gliding across the canopy to find her friends, tears in her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6: part six already? I write faster than I thought. Anyway, stuff happens.**

'What is this you say? You saw them, tried to attack, but you _let them go_? Why, you useless feathered freak!'  
Over at the hidden hollow where King K. Rool was hiding, the Kremling king was in the progress of attempting to smack the scarred Harpy eagle out of the air for what he did wrong.  
'It wasn't me, my liege,' the bird quivered, hiding in a glum little corner. 'It was Reaver, she's a betrayer...'  
K. Rool stopped his rage attacks and looked over at the bird with one humongous big bloodshot eye. A betrayer? Why, he had raised them to adulthood himself. Why would one of these valuable hunters be a rebel?  
'Oh... do tell me everything,' he growled.  
The scarred eagle crept out from its hiding place and as soon as he did so, the crocodilian king got quite a fright – it had appeared that his loyal henchman had been in a scrap for its feathers were soaked with blood and his face was soaked with blood.  
'It went like this – I was patrolling the island and looking for food at the same time, and then I spotted them – two of them there monkeys. In our territory! So of course, I tried attacking them, got shot with peanuts and feathers, but... suddenly, Reaver was there and _clawed my eye out_, that fiendish son of a...'  
the bird gasped as he had lost his breath from talking too fast. Meanwhile, DK, who was still caged, perked up at the mentioning of "two monkeys" and "shot with peanuts and feathers"._That could be none other than Diddy and Dixie_, he thought. _They're coming to rescue me_. He felt like cheering it out for everyone to hear, but didn't, for he was still stuck in that cage. At the same time, he felt guilty – having to be rescued by his would-be nephew and his girlfriend? Again? He sat down and pondered the thought. K. Rool didn't notice. Instead, he kept listening to the bird's story.  
'...so, I spat the most horrible insults I could think of, but she didn't care. Instead, she just flew away like I was any other guy. Do I look like any other guy to you?' cried the bird. 'I thought she was on our side!'  
K. Rool stared at the bird with his enlarged eye for a while. Then, he spoke, 'I do believe you messed up royally. But, I will give you another chance. Go out there, and bring me that monkey. Bring him _alive_. No eating. But mark my words, keep this up and I'll make a feather duster outta you!'  
The bird nodded pathetically before flying away, losing a heap of feathers. He was going to make a comment about how he would like to see his ex-mate get punished, but he postponed the thought.  
'I – I won't let you down, my lord! Promise!' he cried before disappearing from sight.  
'Oh, those bothersome birds... I wish I could've stuck with my loyal Kremlings.'  
Most of the Kremlings he was referring to did not like him at all. He treated most his loyal underlings like dirt – in the end, it did not help his cause at all – most of them who were still on Crocodile Isle when it sank were buried underground.  
They were even planning to rebel against him, but it didn't work as soon as their home island had sunk. Some of them reluctantly took residence at either DK Isle or the Northern Kremisphere, but they all had agreed that they would never speak to K. Rool again. The zombified Kremlings, however, who were just some mere corpses at first – had become undead as soon as the Isle rose again, thanks to the power of the Source. The Source was capable of doing both great and terrible things, but K. Rool did not care in the least by now. He just wanted to taste sweet revenge on those Kongs who gave him such a hard time in the past. All over a bunch of stolen bananas...

'Now, don't be too hard on yourself, Reaver. It wasn't _your_ fault.'  
'Don't pity me! I'm a worthless predatory bird, always have been, always will be! Raised to hunt life-forms that..! Oh, I'm so miserable,' the bird whined. 'But I do know it was that filthy crocodile, you know? Oh, I should've never admitted to being his servant. What does he take me for?'  
'He's horrible. I know what he's like. You're not to blame... but you can trust us,'  
Dixie was attempting to make the upset Reaver feel better – without very much success. The eagle began sobbing again.  
'And then Buck...'  
'Who's Buck?' Diddy butted in, a bit rudely.  
'...my ex-mate,' the bird sobbed. 'I wouldn't have thought that he would be able to do such a vile deed, but now I'm even worse... oh my goodness... so embarrassing...'  
'Now, now, don't say that. I'm sure he will forgive you.' Dixie said, patting the bird on its back comfortingly. While she was usually one to actually make such things worse, she genuinely felt for this creature for an unknown reason. 'I mean, you know Diddy? I can't remember the many times I accidentally kicked him off a branch. Yet, he always comes climbing back up. Know why? 'cause He's my boyfriend and we love each other.'  
'Shut up about that,' Diddy hissed. But yet, he just went to sit right next to his girlfriend.  
'You see?' Dixie stated triumphantly. Diddy pouted and made an angry face, which made her giggle. She hugged him tightly.  
'But it wasn't an accident! I did it all on purpose,' the female Harpy eagle said, bawling her eyes out.  
'Hey, you saved us!' Diddy laughed. 'If you weren't there, we would have been torn to shreds by that thuggish monster.'  
'Don't say that,' Dixie snapped, letting go of him at once and pushing him aside. 'She has it hard enough already.'  
Her boyfriend obliged. He didn't feel the need to say anything, anyway.  
Reaver looked at the two for a while. '...actually, I don't suppose he actually wants me back. But I don't care,' she added quickly. 'I mean, just look at you. You look so close... It's adorable. My mate never brought me food, nor did he ever look at the sunset with me...'  
the two monkeys both blushed. How in the world did she know about that? They did however not say anything about the fact that he was attempting to take them to his mate to eat.  
'Er... guess you can say that... I mean, about the close part...' Diddy stammered. 'But er, if you don't mind... I'm off to look over there. To see if it's safe. Y'know, keep watch and stuff.'  
'Lemme guess - nature calls?' Dixie giggled.  
Diddy just frowned.  
'I swear, if I didn't like you this much...'  
Without saying another word, the young monkey bounded away. Dixie turned to Reaver.  
'Such a cute little scatterbrain he is,' she smiled. ' But er, I know K. Rool, he's such a jerk. I mean, he kidnapped one of our closest friends not too long ago! Do you know anything about him, perhaps?' she asked, for the first time now. Fat chance, she thought, but asking is never wrong. 'He's a large ape wearing a tie...'  
The Harpy eagle quickly turned around, her eyes wide open. 'Oh, I've seen him alright!' she exclaimed. Dixie gasped. 'Actually, K. Rool keeps him in his secret hiding place. I don't believe he's done him much harm, except that he wants to starve him or something, apparently.'  
'B-but.. starve him? Oh my. This is worse than I thought...' The young she-monkey took a look in the distance if she could still see Diddy. He was nowhere to be seen, though. Was probably off somewhere else.  
'But I've been helping him.' The eagle said, proud to be respected for once. 'Bringing him food when K. Rool wasn't looking. He's alright now, thanks to me.'  
'Oh, that's definitely good news! Thank you so much,' she embraced the large bird in gratefulness. 'Now, if only we can reach that place... do you know where to go?'  
'Sure, I know the whole island. But how?'  
'We can hold on to your talons. You look strong enough,'  
The bird nodded slowly. 'I'll take you two there. Find your boyfriend, will you?'  
Thus, Dixie ran off, shouting Diddy's name everywhere she went in the small copse they were hiding in, and beyond. But it took long, a few minutes, even, until she returned, out of breath and wearing an upset, worried expression. She clutched a rather familiar red cap tightly.  
'It's Diddy...' she panted. '...he's _gone_!'


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7: **_**Captured**_**. Oh boy, such an interesting short title! Or not, by now... Jeez. There goes my claim to fame.**

A platoon of Harpy eagles, being led by a fearful sight of a mangled male bird – now wearing an eye patch - made their way into the volcano where King K. Rool was hiding under the full moon. The platoon waited in the trees while the male flew inside.  
''ere You go, majesty.'  
He dropped the load that he was carrying.  
'You selfish jerk! Untie me, pronto! I hate you and honestly despise all of you, I swear!'  
Out of the shadows stepped a familiar face. Well, face – the first that was able to be seen at that angle was some claws, a large golden gut, and finally, a menacing fanged crocodilian face that wore a makeshift feathered crown. In that order. King K. Rool stepped forward, lowered his head and looked at the prisoner with one large bloodshot eye. The hot breath of the large crocodile fell over the young monkey like mist, and smelt horrible.  
'...Hi there, pipsqueak,' he snarled with a grin. 'Come to rescue your buddy? All on your own?'  
Diddy did not say anything. He just frowned one horribly angry face. He couldn't do much more, being tied up after all.  
'You're a dirty fiend, K. Rool! I..' he suddenly realized something. 'Where's my hat? Where am I? WHERE'S DK!'  
That was when he lost it. He pathetically wriggled around trying to free himself from the ropes he was trapped in – without success.  
'K. Rool, damn you! _Damn you to hell_!' he screamed in utter rage.  
'Oh, what's that you say, pipsqueak?' K. Rool mumbled mockingly. 'Such language for one so small, tsk! Such bravery. Misplaced... You do realise I'm the supreme overlord around here, do you?'  
The large crocodile guffawed.  
'Throw him in the cell!' he roared, and before he knew it, Diddy was thrown in a cage and locked up. K. Rool left, as well as the Harpy eagle, who was overjoyed because he had finally proven himself worthy again.  
Silence fell. All around was darkness, not a single speck of light filtered through into the dark prison. Diddy did however manage to untie himself from the ropes because the bird's sharp claws had ripped it half off. He hid in a corner of the cage, justifiably upset. He felt his forehead. No hat. He only felt blood. He slammed his head hard against the iron spires and wept silently. What has he got himself into this time? Now Dixie's out there, all alone, probably degraded to Harpy food by now... oh, he should've never trusted that bird! Now he was done for. And DK... He sobbed silently. What a sorry sight I must be now, he thought...  
'Little buddy, is that you?'  
Wait. What was that? Surely he must be dreaming. That voice!  
'...DK? Where are you?'  
'right next to you, in the other cage,'  
He turned around, but it was too dark to see. He stuck out his hand through the metal bars, feeling around – and soon enough he felt what he was aiming for – his big buddy's hand. They held each other's hand tightly.  
'...I'm scared,' he squeaked. 'What's K. Rool doing? I mean, with all those birds...'  
'I don't know. Don't care either,' DK said. 'Are you all right, buddy?'  
'Nothing wrong with me,' Diddy answered unconvincingly. His voice quivered, and he felt like he was going to burst out in tears any moment from now.  
'Don't worry, we'll get out of this okay...'

Meanwhile, K. Rool couldn't contain his joy. He bounced around in a weird manner, cheering loudly.  
'Finally! Nothing bad could possibly happen now. Oh, I'll be able to taste sweet, sweet revenge, finally. Well, yeah, I wonder how revenge tastes like?'  
'Er, your majesty, that is to say...' Buck, the scarred Harpy eagle, ventured. 'There's something I need to tell you...'  
K. Rool stopped his awkward one-man dance party.  
'I hope it's good news, for your sake.' he growled, peeking at the avian with his large bloodshot eye.  
'Well actually... I think that that girl is still out there.'  
The Kremling King's evil smirk changed into a horribly angry growl.  
'_What_!' he bellowed. 'What do you mean with that!'  
'Er, that pipsqueak's girl. She's plotting against us, most probably with Reaver in tow. I don't suppose you could-'  
'You worthless sack of feathers, you!' King K. Rool interrupted him. Now he knew better than to fear a mere girl, but _this_ girl had managed to kick his butt good a couple of times. 'You're as useless as my other servants! Do something, already! Turn on the Source!'  
The king began chanting gibberish, while the bird quickly flapped to a makeshift switch below the altar of the Source and turned it on. With a deafening, booming roar, a large multicoloured jet of light burst out – blasting high up, out of the volcano all the way up to the sky. King K. Rool laughed maniacally, hands risen up in the air.  
'Ah-hah-hah-hah!' he laughed. 'Finally, I'll be able to blow their pitiful little isle to smithereens. As soon as I figure out how... Isn't it beautiful, feather-face?'  
"Feather-face" did not say anything. He stared at the two cages, which were now brightly illuminated.  
'Look, my lord, how cute. They're holding hands,' he croaked mockingly. 'Almost sorry to hear that once you kick the bucket, I'll have a feast on your bones!'  
The two Kongs ignored the bird's quip. Diddy, however, shivered at the sight of something that otherworldly. Even though he had seen it before, it was a frightful sight. That light was somehow able to create clones of those fiendish crocodiles, and it was obvious that without it they'd stand little chance.  
'What's happening? I'm so scared!' said Diddy. He began crying in a heart-wrenching manner. 'Have they no heart?'  
Donkey Kong didn't say anything. Instead, he tried to console his little buddy, with no result as he kept weeping.  
'Oh, pay them no attention,' huffed K. Rool to the bird. 'There's no chance they're ruining my plans now. Ha! Ha!'  
Both Kongs hidden away in the cages feared for their lives. They had been through so much together, would it end so soon?  
'I'm sorry, Diddy.' DK mumbled.  
The Kremling king paid them no attention. He was too occupied with attempting to do a little celebratory jig near the Source, laughing like a madman. However, his dance quickly came to a halt as a lone, distressed yelling Harpy eagle flew in as a flurry of black and grey feathers.  
'My lord, quickly! We're under attack! Get away!'


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8: K. Rool gets his scaly hide whupped, stuff happens**

The bird barely could finish its sentence before it got blown away by a gust of air. It was nobody other than Reaver who had carried Dixie all the way to the secret hiding hole of K. Rool. She quickly dropped the she-monkey with care and flew over the Kremling king, who was utterly dumbfounded by this happening. In bitter rage, he tried to swipe at Reaver with his large claws, but Dixie threateningly pointed her feather crossbow at his throat before he could hit anything.  
'_Say what happened to my boyfriend and DK... at once_,' she hissed with bared teeth, glaring at the king, keeping him at bay. He raised his arms up in the air. He was almost _frightened_ by the sight.  
'Don't shoot me!' he said in a tiny voice.  
Upon hearing the familiar voice of his girlfriend whom he had thought dead by now, Diddy jumped up, accidentally hitting his head. That hurt him, but he did not care about that.  
'Dixie! You came!' he exclaimed gleefully.  
She turned around, and looked at him with what appeared to be a weird combination between a smile and a grin on her face. 'Ha, you said _came_.'  
But that was a fatal mistake, as K. Rool saw his chance, slapped her crossbow out of her hands and pushed her over, pinning her down with his foot. Her chipper attitude got exchanged for fear as she felt her chest being crushed by the sheer weight of the obese tyrant.  
'So, did ya think you could shoot at King K. Rool, right?' He bent over his head and glared at the young monkey with that one creepy eye. 'Did ya think you could defeat ME, missy?'  
He grabbed hold of her crossbow.  
'With this flimsy wooden bow, no less? Oh, gimme a _break_!'  
Diddy gasped and covered his mouth in astonishment.  
'Don't give up, my _dear_!' he shouted. Dixie weakly looked his way, all while trying to pull the foot of her chest.  
'...how many times do I have to tell you... that... you... don't call me... dear...' she uttered, barely audible, before her body went limp. K. Rool was about to deliver a final blow when he felt a sharp pain, akin to a bullet shot from a cannon, on his head.  
'OW!' he cried out. A single flurry of bluish grey-white feathers flew across his face. 'What in the-'  
And just then, before he could even curse at the bird that attacked him, its fearful talons scraped across his enlarged eye. Releasing his grip on the young she-monkey he was aiming for the bird now. He fell to the ground.  
'...you shouldn't have done that,' he growled in the most fearful way possible. Just that instant he snapped. 'You _betrayer_!' he bellowed. 'After all I'd done to raise you! Helped you when you were weak, protected you – all I asked was ONE favour, and is this my thanks?' Blood stained his pathetic-looking cape as he tried pursuing his attacker, holding one of his gargantuan claws against his hurt eye. The bird fluttered above the Source itself.  
'I'll get you even if it _kills_-'  
He broke off as he tripped over, right into the Source itself. It shook and quaked with deafening sounds until it went out, and King K. Rool was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Buck, the scarred Harpy eagle, able to be spotted anywhere. He had fled as soon as he saw the chance.  
Reaver quickly grabbed a bunch of keys that were hanging on the wall and flew over to Diddy and DK, to which they opened their prisons after each other. Once freed they quickly ran to the still body of poor Dixie. Diddy went down on his knees, and cradled her limp body in his arms. He sobbed audibly, while DK bowed his head in sadness, staying close to his little buddy to comfort him.  
'...don't leave me, my dear, dear Dixie...' Diddy whimpered. 'I... we've been through so much together... don't die on me now...'  
Slowly she opened her eyes a little, and gave a weak smile.  
'...how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me _dear_.' she murmured. From out of her backpack she fetched Diddy's strikingly red cap, and put it on his head. 'There you go,' she said. 'you don't look very pretty without it.'  
'You saved my hat,' Diddy smiled through his tears. 'Will you be alright?'  
'Yeah, sure I will... but that K. Fool walloped my noggin but good,' she said, a bit more cheerful now. 'I know I'm the _big damn hero_ now for a change... But I just want to rest. Carry me, Didds,'  
'What? Again? Seriously... Me, carry you? Why, I can't even-'  
She shot him a glare. But at the same time, DK had gestured him to climb on his back. That would surely make the whole situation a lot easier. He grinned.  
'...alright, alright, I'll carry you.'  
With Dixie on his back, Diddy, in turn, climbed upon DK's back.  
'Hey, you're cheating.'  
'No, I'm not. Giddy up, DK!'  
Nothing happened.  
'...or not giddy up, whatever you'd like. Let's go back home, shall we?'  
But suddenly, the earth began shaking. Large blocks of stone came falling down, and DK and his passengers just managed to avoid them. But once they reached the beach, they were at a dead end.  
'And then?' Dixie remarked sarcastically. The isle was sinking – some of the zombie-Kremlings that had been encountered earlier on were trying to avoid the rising water by climbing up the rigging of some old wrecks. 'Ha! Serves them right,' she said.  
'I'm really grateful that you saved me but... how in the world are we supposed to get to our island now?' DK remarked.  
'Help is at hand! Worry not!'  
Out of the volcano flew Reaver, the Harpy eagle that had proven to be such a valuable ally in their quest. She landed gracefully next to them.  
'Can you carry all three of us?' asked DK. Diddy didn't say anything for he was exhausted.  
'Not a problem,' the eagle said. And so, they carefully grabbed hold of the bird's talons and they flew away.  
It was a sight to behold. The three Kongs and the one Harpy eagle all stood together, looking over at the sea, in the early dusk of the morning. The isle was slowly sinking at first, until the beam of light from the Source shot out with great power. It sank more quickly now, until it had disappeared from sight altogether, only some waves revealing the former presence of the dark island. In the distance, a boat left at the place where the Isle disappeared, and both a mean cackle and a croak, barely audible, could be heard...


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9: It All Endeth Here**

They stood there for a while, staring over the sea. The air was thick with smells of sea foam and fresh pine forests. Silence reigned until Diddy opened his mouth.  
'Er, guys. I'd like to... thank you so much for helping me rescue my ol' pal DK here,' he said. DK looked at him.  
'I'm proud of you, little buddy,' he said. 'You're a true hero.'  
They embraced each other, happy and grateful that it all ended well.  
'Hey! What about me?' Dixie snapped, to which Diddy looked her way. 'If it wasn't for me, you two would be-'  
She didn't get to finish her sentence because just then Diddy was in the progress of kissing her passionately on the lips. She slapped him twice afterwards, but the both of them kept smiling. It took her a while to say something as soon as he had finished.  
'...Well, I could get used to that.'  
They all laughed.  
'Also, thank you, too, Reaver,' Diddy said. 'You're also a true friend... I, er, thank you.'  
The eagle smiled warmly, which was quite unusual for a bird like her. 'It was an honour serving you, my liege.'  
'What's that – my _liege_?' the young monkey asked, puzzled by that remark.  
'Yes, my liege. That'd be you. You freed us of the tyranny of K. Rool... but what's to become of the Harpy Squadron now?'  
He looked up in the sky and saw a large flock of Harpy eagles flying in circles. It was an impressive sight, albeit somewhat fearful in a way – mostly because Harpies usually hunted monkeys.  
'Er... dismissed. You can go to your birthplace then,' he said with the most honour he could muster. 'May you all live free without worries.'  
'Sir, you are too kind. I wish we could repay the debt,'  
'Oh, you already did, right? Without you, DK would've starved to death and K. Rool would've squished my _dear_ -' Diddy began, but cut off as soon as Dixie shot him a glare.  
Reaver couldn't contain her excitement. This was the first instance where she got treated with respect, like she longed for. She also got the one thing she wanted most – friends. But now she was about to lose them. Sadness began to reign over her.  
'I will miss you,' she began, the tears to come already heavy in her voice. 'All of you. Er... I don't suppose I'll have to leave at once, now do I?'  
Diddy smiled. 'Of course you don't! You can come with us for a while. But do be prepared to get a few scared looks...'  
'Okay, I will. I'll tell my flock to stay here and to not eat anyone,' Reaver said thankfully, and gave a screech to the platoon in the sky, to which they left. 'Thanks for everything!'  
'Thank you too.' Dixie said. 'Now, I don't know about you guys, but I want to go back home. Who's with me?'  
They all agreed and slowly went pacing back to DK's hut.

After all of them got some sleep, they took it easy, for once. No more adventuring for a while, they all thought.  
'What's that? Oh, leave me alone. I'm old, I need my rest. How did your silly little fan story-quest go, anyway? I wouldn't like to be seen dead in a story that has fan characters and fellow apes being out-of-character, but whatever...'  
Cranky was once again ranting to anyone who wanted to hear. And those that didn't, for that matter. This time it was Dixie.  
'Oh, it went really well – we got DK back, but halfway, Diddy got kidnapped, and I saved him.' She began, gesturing wildly and eagerly awaiting his response. 'And you don't have to worry about K. Rool anymore. We made short work of the isle. Th' fishes can go adventuring through the Source now.'  
Cranky's eyes widened. '_You_? Saved your _boyfriend_? Well, the times sure have changed since I was a lad... where is he anyway?'  
Dixie looked up into the sky and smirked. 'Oh, I do believe he's coming right now.'  
Coming right now? What's wrong with those kids, thought Cranky. Believe their boyfriends fly in the sky...  
As soon as Diddy came into sight however, Cranky got quite a fright. For he was being hauled around by a large, fierce-looking eagle – said eagle landed right next to the old ape, placing Diddy carefully on the ground.  
'What in the world? Run away!' Cranky cried, climbing out of his chair and attempting to "run" away, supported by his cane. The bird however, stood before him in an instant and glared into his eyes.  
'...hi, old geezer.' Reaver said. Diddy and Dixie laughed.  
'What the-'  
'It's okay, Reaver is a friend,' Diddy began, still cracking up. 'I asked her to say that.'  
'Why, you punk! You're a bad influence to your pets!' the old ape groaned, still staring at the enormous bird. 'Respect your elders, Tweety!'  
'Excuse me, I'm not a pet.' Said the eagle as Cranky stumbled back to his chair, grumbling to himself. But even she found it a hilarious situation, thus she laughed, too. 'We really shouldn't be teasing that poor fellow so much.' She said.  
'Oh, he's used to it,' Diddy laughed. 'Me and Dixie hang around his cabin whenever we get bored. And hey, he's not that kind to me either, y'know! I mean, he called me fat once. I'm still hurt by that.'  
Dixie hugged him closely. 'Hey, face it, you _are_. But I wouldn't change it for the world. You're perfect just the way you are,' she said.  
'Naww... you're just saying that to make me feel better.' pouted Diddy.  
'No, I'm not. I'm dead honest.' Dixie said, dreamily looking into his eyes. 'Oh, just kiss me already, you lovable moron!'  
'Wh- kiss you? Why, over at that island you were snapping at me for trying to snuggle. And you _slapped_ me when I-'  
'Tch! Don't you know me by now?'  
And so they did. Cranky looked at the two young 'uns making out abundantly.  
'Don't stare, it's impolite.' Reaver said with a smirk.  
The old geezer didn't care. 'Jeez, go do that somewhere else, will you? You're scarring my poor old eyes!' he yelled. Diddy and Dixie decided it would be wise to postpone their making-out session and ran off, Reaver flying behind them.  
'They grow up so fast, do they? Why, I can't believe that he's taking after DK just as DK took after me.' the old guy said to Squawks the parrot, who flew down to inquire him about a flock of Harpy eagles at the corner of the isle, still oblivious to the young monkeys' new friend. The animal gave a squawk.  
'Yes, they do... they sure do.' he said, preening his feathers. 'Remember the good old days when I was a hero, fighting Zingers and helping those kids navigate through dark caverns?'  
'Those were _your _good old days,' Cranky groaned. 'Back in _my_ day, we weren't in no silly fan stories! We were heroes of videogames in the arcades, respected by all and played by many! Women were hurrying to take my autograph!'  
'Yeah, in your dreams,' Squawks said. 'Anyway, I wonder what the next year will bring?'  
Cranky stared wistfully into the distance, towards the sun that shone high above the canopy of the jungle. Some of the aforementioned Harpy eagles still circled above the ocean.  
'Nothing important I'm sure. Maybe, I'm saying just maybe, those kids will get another silly game or two on this new Wii console...'


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 10: Epic Epilogue Essay (Yay, alliteration!)**

Somewhere in the far distance of the sea, a single washed-up ship meandered carelessly over the waves, slowly sinking, for it was laced with holes as if it were some giant floating sort of cheese.  
'If you would've done something, you useless feathered... ball of feathers, we would have reigned over the whole continent! Now look what you've done! I've lost my prisoners, fell in the Source, lost the Harpy squadron... and now our Island is gone!' K. Rool sobbed to himself. 'And my eye hurts with pain like no other pain... by beautiful bloodshot eye..! It's all your fault!' he cried, cuffing the scarred Harpy eagle who was sitting next to him, on his head. The bird walloped to its side.  
'I'm sorry, my lord,' it squeaked. 'We'll get them next time, I'm sure we will.'  
'I hope, for your sake, we will,' he said. 'Oh... I'll get them alright...'  
He gave one last booming laugh before the ship sunk into the waters. Nobody would have ever known he would survive and return stronger than ever...

The whole day, the close band of friends kept close to each other, exploring the jungles of their birthplace. It was until sunset that they made their way back home. DK, Diddy, and Dixie slept in their hammock while Reaver stood outside, sleeping upright with her head tucked in her feathers, like most birds do. Early in the morning, she felt the need to leave. Her flock was hungry, and she didn't want to bother her new friends any more. Not to mention that staying there any longer could get dangerous, considering that the birds were hungry. They had all agreed on her decision the day before, so, she and her platoon left without a sound, as mysteriously as she came. She wasn't sure if she could visit her friends once again – but time would tell.

It was very early in the day when Diddy and Dixie decided to leave the house and go out to mind their own business, to leave DK sleeping in his own house like he asked for the other day, he had said that he was very tired and that those kids probably needed less sleep than him.  
'I want you to be honest now,' Diddy said to his girlfriend while they were walking through the jungle together. 'Why did you want to go with me so badly?'  
What a stupid question, thought Dixie as they trod along. Ever since their adventure they had been feeling closer than ever. 'Because I love you, that's why. Happy now?'  
Diddy blushed. 'Er... yeah, I am.' he said. 'But since I'm not a romantic type at all... how about we go play our guitars instead of this soppy love-talk business?'  
'Oh, I'm with you – instead of sounding romantic, most people end up sounding like obsessed stalkers instead.' She laughed. 'That's a great idea. I'll get 'em, you wait here!'  
Thus, she hurried to their place to get the instruments and quickly met up with her friend again. They both walked over to a forested glade where they were sure of nobody going there. It was an idyllic location - the only sounds were of the birds' sweet songs and the sun shone through the canopy in a mystical manner.  
'I'm not gonna write you a love song, just sayin',' Dixie began and started playing.  
'Not even if I ask for it?' Diddy laughed. 'Don't need to. Love songs are cheap.'  
'So, do you think that? Well, guess I wrote this song for nothing then,'  
'Er- I didn't mean it by that, my dear-'  
'For the tenth time, stop calling me _dear_!'  
And before they knew it they had thrown their instruments aside and began yet another play fight.  
'Ow! You fight mean!' Diddy yelped. 'You're playing a dangerous game, miss. Let go of my-'  
'Can't take it that I'm stronger than you? Oh, alright then, you softy,' Dixie laughed, and calmed down. She gazed into her boyfriend's eyes wistfully. 'Promise you'll never leave me?'  
'Oh, I know where you're going...' he shoved her off himself gently, and sat down. 'Nope, we'll stick together. Always,'  
'That's settled, then,'  
Dixie laid down, resting her head on her boyfriend's lap, closing her eyes with a sigh of happiness.  
''til Our next adventure,' she murmured. 'You silly little scatterbrain, you,'  
'Promise,' Diddy said, running his fingers through her golden hair. 'Love ya too, Dixie.'  
This happening went unnoticed to everyone, and they were happy about that. Nobody would have ever known, except for one single familiar scarred avian who flapped away after spotting the two young monkeys, emitting one last ominous croak on its way back to its master...

**THE END**

I wouldn't have believed that this story would be finished so quickly! So yeah, I'd like to tell you guys something about how this story began life.

One day, I was reading up on my old copies of Farthing Wood Friends, and read a little blurb about how a Harpy eagle was so strong it could carry around a monkey. Since I was in my DKC-fandom, I read 'Monkey' as 'Kong' and there went the idea. A Harpy as an animal buddy? I drew and drew until I got what I wanted – a female Harpy eagle, known as Reaver amongst you (I'd like to thank one of my close friends for thinking up that name. If he wouldn't have, Reaver would be known as Mrs. Harpy. Boring, eh?). But since these guys mostly carry monkeys to eat 'em, I thought about K. Rool having imported some of them to annoy the Kong family. Make one of them a rebel, not wanting to eat monkeys, and there you go. Some weeks before that, I had also drawn some zombified Kremlings, as a would-be idea for a probably never-gonna-be-made sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns, which featured the return of Crocodile Isle, K. Rool and the Kremlings as zombies. Combine these two ideas, and you have... well, this fan fic, actually. Pop in some silly references to other stuff I like, a creative mind, way too much time on my hands, a knack for shipping Diddy and Dixie, an Internet connection that went kablooey, and done! My second large fan fic project. Can't believe how far I've come since the first chapter of _Siege of the Island_... Speaking of which, I do believe it was mentioned one time in that story that Diddy couldn't come, because Kremlings were acting up. Well, guess what? (actually this idea is retconned because it makes little sense canonically. This all happened before Scourge of the Island. Okay? Okay. It happens before Returns, too, because fanon dictates that it was K. Rool who revived the Tikis. I expect you all to adapt to that idea because it makes so much sense.)

One upside of this fan fiction business is that I had a valid reason to rant on fan fiction clichés through Cranky, lolz.

I'd like to thank OCRemix for those amazing remixes that really inspired me to write at all times (especially the album Serious Monkey Business. I'd like to thank everyone who provided the amazing remixes in that album! It really inspired me) and all my friends at DeviantART who are fully supportive of my constant-changing fandoms and my stupid Internet provider for crashing because if it didn't I most definitely wouldn't have finished this tale so quickly. And you, the reader, for taking interest in this story.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Stay tuned until the next story!


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